1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to covers in the form of a blanket or bib which provides a privacy shield for use by a mother when nursing her infant in a public place.
2. Description of Related Art
Numerous covers in the form of a bib, blanket or other covering for the upper torso of a woman are known for use in shielding a mother's breast from view when circumstances require that she nurse her child in a place where she cannot, or it is inconvenient to, retreat from view. While conventional blankets and diapers have been used by mothers for this purpose, a blanket or diaper draped over her should will not enable the mother to view her nursing child nor will it provide adequate ventilation for the child. Also, a mother using an unsecured blanket or bib runs the risk that it will slip off at any time.
As a result, various types of securable privacy coverings have been developed. These privacy coverings have either been securable at the mother's shoulder (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,964,172; 4,989,268; and 5,038,411) or around her neck in the manner of a bib (for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,631,754; 4,716,597; 4,924,528; 4,987,612; 5,034,999; and 5,259,068). The first type provide only a limited coverage area, posing problems if the child is to be nursed from both sides due to the need to remove and remount the shield at the opposite shoulder when switching sides, and their holding mechanisms (e.g., a hook-like member) could be uncomfortable if too small or fall off if too big.
On the other hand, bib type privacy shields have possessed other deficiencies. For example, if secured around the neck of the mother, a bib type covering has a tendency to drape itself over the child and if large enough to provide adequate coverage of the mother's upper torso, provides little ventilation to the child and inhibits the ability of the mother to view her child. To combat this tendency, various techniques have been employed. In the case of U.S. Pat. No. 4,631,754, the nursing scarf disclosed therein is tied so as to produce a neck opening substantially larger than the wearer's neck and the upper margin of the scarf is pleated, to provide an opening through which the mother may view her nursing child. However, in practice, the pleats have little structural strength and with a opening that is large enough to insure the ability to view the child, it would be difficult to arrange the scarf so as to achieve both sufficient screening of the nursing child relative to onlookers and visibility for the mother.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,716,597, a nursing garment is disclosed which is in the form of a poncho that is worn by placing it over the head of the mother. In an attempt to enable the mother to be able to view her nursing child, a rigid hoop is hemmed into the neck opening. However, because the rigid hoop must be large enough to allow the mother's head to pass through it and there is no means to hold it in a horizontal orientation, it has a tendency to hang against the mother's chest, effectively blocking the visibility of the child. Moreover, such a poncho type garment is large and cumbersome to carry around and creates the problem that the mother's hair will be placed in a condition of disarray as a result of pulling it on and off, thereby making its use undesirable.
These problems are solved, at least in part, with the nursing cover of U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,068, which discloses a bib type nursing cover which is secured about the mothers neck using an adhesive closure of the VELCRO.RTM. type, so that it can be easily be put on without her hair style being disturbed, and viewing slits are provided by omission of stitching between upper and lower panels of the cover at a location above breast height and long enough to provide a clear view but not so long as to produce too much gapping, 9 inches being given as a suitable length. However, such a multipanel garment is more expensive to produce than a single panel one. Also, what might be a suitable height and length for the slits for one person, for example, a short, thin woman, very likely would be unsuitable for another, for example, a tall buxom one, thereby necessitating production of the nursing cover in sizes, further increasing production costs.